Through the Lord’s mercies we are not
consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.—Lamentations
3:22-23
I do it all the time—every time I fill up. I notch the
lever on the gas pump handle and trust it to stop automatically when the fuel
reaches the top of the tank. Wednesday was no different. I positioned the nozzle,
squeezed the trigger, secured the lever and let it do its thing. Meanwhile I watched the numbers on the pump
climb higher than the dollars in my wallet.
Click! I reached for the
handle and then quickly withdrew my hand, as gasoline gushed out, splashing
down the side of the Jeep and spilling onto the concrete. “Oh, no!” I groaned,
fumbling to release the lever. Wasting
fuel in our conservation conscious culture is sinful. What a mess! What do I do? I scanned the pumping station. Not a paper towel in sight! Angrily I
rummaged through my car and pulled out a rumpled napkin. But I knew I had no one to blame but myself. I will never take my hand off the nozzle
again!
How many other things do I do automatically? Has routine become my routine?
The residual odor of octane is an overwhelming reminder that
“automatic” doesn’t automatically work. How many things have I taken my hand
off of—so to speak—and just let them do their own thing? Have I become so accustomed to my job, my
ministry, my relationships, and even my
worship that I can operate my life with little effort? In so doing, am I just going through the
motions? Wasting my energy?
As the lyrics of a well-known song by Matthew
West express, “I’ve gotta make a change… I don't wanna go through the
motions—I don't wanna go one more day—without Your all consuming passion inside
of me. I don't wanna spend my whole life
asking what if I had given everything instead of going through the motions.” (Capitol Christian Music Group, 2008)
In his book All
In (Zondervan, 2013), Mark Batterson reminds Christians that Jesus was never passive but
passionate (p.37). How can we emulate the
passion of Christ?
We can start by following His prayer guide: “Give us this day our daily bread.”—Matthew
6:11
We must beseech Him daily—not
just for physical sustenance but spiritual as well, for “Man shall not live and
be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from
the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
In a discussion with His followers about physical bread,
Jesus broached the subject of manna from heaven. The Israelites knew about
manna, for their ancestors had collected it in the wilderness for their daily
sustenance.
Everyone had gathered just as
much as they needed. Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it
until morning.”
However, some of them paid no
attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of
maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.—Exodus 16:18-20
We cannot expect old manna to sustain us.
Like the Israelites who collected their daily omer, let
us go to the Lord daily for a fresh supply of “the bread of life” (John 6:35). Let us feast upon the Word of God (John
1:1). And let us seek a fresh outpouring
of His Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28) to invigorate us with an all consuming passion.
Then we can trust Him to replace the stale with something
new.
Do not remember the former
things,
Nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the
wilderness
And rivers in the desert.—Isaiah
43:18-19
Dear Lord, Thank
You for Your life-giving bread (John 6:51)—and for the overwhelming-odor-of-octane
reminder than passivity is like the odor of rancid manna. May I come to You
daily for a fill-up of fresh power, replacing passivity with the passion to
point others to You. And may I always keep my hand on the nozzle…uh, the plow
(Luke 9:62). “To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so
powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:29). Amen.
Desiree,
ReplyDeleteAnother wonderful message!!! This one is particularly moving because you are so right; it is extremely important that we go to the Lord daily for our daily supply of nourishment and encouragement. This is a very important message and it’s great!!! Thank you.
Passivity is a common trait among American Christian males. We just "go with the flow, don't rock the boat, etc." In his book, "No More Christian Nice Guy," Paul Coughlin writes about the fact that Jesus was not passive, nor aggressive, but ASSERTIVE. He knew His mission from the Father and STOOD FIRM.
ReplyDeleteHe also knew the source of His strength. "In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there Mark 1:35)." If Jesus needed to spend time with His Father, how much more do I?
Thanks, Desiree, for the encouragement to do that. May all of us as Christian men get serious about our relationship with God, act like men, and see ourselves as more than conquerors.
Another timely message! Sometimes when reading your blog I feel you are writing just for me!
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